


things that burn

by tulowhiskey



Series: tumblr prompts. [3]
Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Booty Calls, M/M, how many fire metaphors can a bitch squeeze into 600 words or less?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 20:05:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14921990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tulowhiskey/pseuds/tulowhiskey
Summary: when aaron sends a text, still frustrated with parts of tonight’s start, of course he goes to him. he’s the catcher – that’s his job.





	things that burn

**Author's Note:**

> **1\. things you said at 1 am.**   
>  _{ there isn’t a lot… said, but lets not take that literally for reasons, ok?}_

luke knows he’s playing with fire when he leaves his hotel room well after he should be gone to bed, and heads for another.

he knows there’s a divide in the clubhouse, an invisible rift that comes from within the starting rotation, the rotation he’s responsible for managing every three days. it was there when he arrived from tampa nearly a year ago, and he’s never known it to be any other way - but things, apparently, used to be different.

it’s tricky, as a catcher, to navigate the tension. russ has warned him from day one to keep himself at an arm’s length with all of them. ja’s advised maintaining an unaffected, neutral stance on everything. and marco’s recommended course of action is to act like nothing’s wrong, just like he’s been doing for a season plus.

but none of that really suits luke. his rapport with his pitchers doesn’t come out of thin air – it comes from being open and supportive, from getting to know them inside and out, from knowing what they need at any given moment.

so when aaron sends a text, still frustrated with parts of tonight’s start, of course he goes to him. he’s the catcher – that’s his job.

aaron’s surprised when he opens the door, and luke raises an eyebrow. “what, you didn’t think i would?”

the question gets a one-shouldered shrug, aaron’s lanky frame draped against the doorframe. “you’ve kind of been… on the other side so far this season.” there’s no heat in his words, just stating it as fact. no one was immune to the ‘him or me’ tug of war between the young pitchers, except maybe marco.

the shrug gets returned easily. he’s not wrong – luke’s time hasn’t been divided very evenly between the pitchers so far, both on the field and off. he hasn’t actually caught marcus yet, but they’ve been spending a lot of time together anyway, what with his two closest teammates now playing elsewhere and the third still rehabbing from last summer’s injury. his side, to use their terms, was looking a little sparse these days, and luke always did have a soft spot for the lonely boys.

“look, i couldn’t care less what he thinks, but if he finds out - it’s gonna land on you. hard, probably. that’s how it goes with this shit.”

luke knows he’s right. knows what he’s walking into. but that’s his way, and he knows what his pitcher needs right now to let go of today’s loss.

and yeah, he knows sometimes playing with fire torches everything to the ground. but sometimes, if it’s called right - and luke always calls his games right - a carefully controlled blaze can burn, on and on and on without damage.

“i caught you tonight. i called your game. if you’re feeling bad about it -” shrugs, tilting his head to the side a bit, the gentle kentucky lilt in his voice a little stronger this late in the day, “- it’s part of my job make that feel better. ” takes a moment to just look at him, eyes darkened a touch and one eyebrow just slightly raised. “and you know i love my job.” 

the first sparks have already caught and begin to smoulder, just as he intended. and it’s no surprise that aaron doesn’t reply and just pushes the door open wider to invite him inside.

**Author's Note:**

> talk baseball to me: [tumblr.](http://tulowhiskey.tumblr.com/)


End file.
